I couldn't believe our poor showing this afternoon, but more importantly I couldn't believe how bad our crowd is. It's no wonder so many players refuse to come here when our home crowd is more of a 6 man for the enemy. I think the worst part of this whole situation is that the other teams can't believe its happening.
Jameer Nelson said "I don't think that is right for any players. Everybody has a right to do what they want at a game because they pay their money, but at the same time he is out there fighting and playing hard. You shouldn't boo the guy, he is an all-star and is great for this team. I don't think he deserves to get booed, I don't think the team deserves to get booed."
Nelson is right. To be a fan means more than jumping on the bus when we're winning. Being a fan means being a fan always. So many of our current fans are quick to blame our players, quick to blame management, coaching but who would want to play for fans who will throw you under the bus the moment things start to get ugly. I'm not saying fans have no right to complain, we can and should comment on games, discuss the team and give our thoughts but all of this should be left at the gate to the ACC. When tip off happens, you should be happy to be there to support your team, no matter who or what they have.You don't see players booing each other because they want someone gone, or someone benched. Carter was one of the few to do so, to express how he felt, to complain about the team as much as the fans complained about the team, yet we boo him. Why boo him for giving up when we gave up on them as well? Imagine how the NBA would be if players acted like the Toronto Raptors crowd. We would have a sea of players without character, integrity or loyalty,an abundance of Vince Carters throwing in the towel.
I remember reading something about how the Raptors were doing so well in ticket sales and attendance within the NBA. Quite frankly, I'd rather see 5000 fans in the building that are going to support the team no matter what, 5000 true fans.
For all you fans who are quick to boo Bosh or any of the Raptors, I hope you have something to smile and cheer about when they start wearing different jerseys. After all, you practically forced them to.
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I think most fans who watch the games at ACC are there for entertainment value. They pay a lot of money for tickets, and want a good time. Reality is there are not going to be 20,000 "die-hard" fans down at the ACC any time soon. If the product on the court is not delivering, then they will boo.
ReplyDeleteAs for players throwing in the towel, isn't that why they are paid millions... to perform?
It's true. I usually go and see hardcore fans scattered around. But many there expect Bosh to perform 40 points a night just because he's an "All star". They don't know shit about the game. But I do recognize that Raptors have a lot of real fans. I've been to other nba games and I swear not 1 person in the arena could tell you 1-2 players on the team. I heard Lakers are the worst.
ReplyDeletethat's a good point, people just probably don't know enough. I remember reading a comment on doug smith's in game blog thing. some fool was saying bosh is a joke, he should be averaging 30 and 12. I almost died laughing.
ReplyDeleteI think the fans have the right to boo and on some nights when the players just aren't bringing it defensively and the level of intensity is lacking, the boos will come. Of course it's unrealistic to think that your allstar will average 30 and 12 but I think most fans are educated enough about the game to spot lackluster effort when they see it.
ReplyDeleteyou beat me to the post, malin. as much as i boo them on the inside, and sometimes boo them at the games, i dont know if i'd boo them in this state. when the boo's started coming today, i saw the team's attitude/play change drastically. the boo's bring back the feelings of our losing streaks, and our shitty play, when really, we stuck in that game for a little bit of time. and im sure if the fans were a bit more encouraging, it couldve influenced them differently.
ReplyDeleteduring the game, i envisioned cb4 yelling at the crowd screaming profanities because he's so frustrated with us. i'd like to see that fire. and i wouldn't hate on him for it, either.
put it this way, yes fans can boo butTtoronto is the kind of crowd that boos someone, they leave, and then the crowd boos them more for leaving. CB is a great franchise player but no matter what, he can't do it alone, big men franchise players NEVER do it alone. They don't bring the ball up, bosh is not physically imposing. If toronto can get a great guard/sf to come here and form a great duo, we're all smiles. My whole point was that by booing him, your asking him to leave. Put yourself in his shoes, if I heard fans booing me at home, and it's been a few games this season, why not go somewhere where they will try to rally us forward instead of killing our spirit when the game is still undecided. Once again I bring up Portland, they give up leads a lot at home, but their crowd always cheers them to help them forward. You know, even the Thunder don't get boos.
ReplyDeleteThough I agree with your point, Malin, I don't think that the boos were all for Bosh. Watching the game today I felt frustrated with the way he was playing, and you can't help but notice he seems out of it. But personally I found myself yelling at the tv for the play of the rest of the team. There are no individuals to point fingers at, but collectively there doesn't seem to be a will to get over the hump. Things like being committed to defense and working for better shot selection rather than jacking up ill-advised jumpers (most times leading to misses) is arguably what got us down in the third quarter, and it's unreasonable to put all the blame on bosh. You're right though, it seems like Toronto has the misfortune of having to work extremely hard to hold on to its stars, whether it be climate or the stigma of playing in Canada. Booing may lead to a star leaving, but it's a lot to ask a rabid fan base to bite their tongues and keep things in perspective.
ReplyDeleteToday not all the boos were, but initially when bosh missed his first few, they were all at him. today's post wasn't just about today, there have been quite a few games not only this year, but in our history that can be used as example.
ReplyDeleteAnyways I just wanted to thank you guys for giving your opinions. We all love to argue and discuss Raps or really anything basketball here so keep it coming! And be sure to check out our live discussion box and drop some knowledge on us.
some of those boos were DEFINITELY directed at bosh. which was most surprising to me.
ReplyDeleteplayers get paid a heck of a lot of money to perform and fans pay a heck of a lot of money to watch the game... we cheer when they do good and COMPETE. Some of the past few games haven't even been a competition, I think Toronto is a very reasonable city and that when booos come out, it's justified. Heck, if players don't do their job, or the coaching staff, or management.. maybe the only way to get the point accross is to boo.
ReplyDeletep.s. players are proffesional and if they wanna cry when their crowd boos, quite frankly why are they getting paid so much. This isn't college, or high school basketball. It's a billion dollar business. Players like Vince Carter cried, and anyone who represented Toronto the same way can leave too.. even if his name is Bosh.
I didn't mean to focus so much on the players themselves but the crowd itself. It's easy to cheer when your team is winning and competing, the difficult thing to do that marks the best home crowds of the NBA is cheering them through difficulty.
ReplyDeleteI think our crowd is definitely one of the best when we're winning. I think Toronto and the Knicks are the best at that. When they have good teams, they are scary crowds but when their teams are bad, they are terrible. Part of that is passion I'm sure, but fans booing early, expecting failure makes the players expect it to.
Fans are entitled to do whatever the hell they want. I'm tired of players, who can't take the pressure and blame everything on the supporters. Let's not forget the supporters help to put the money on those 15 players that they hope to God actually perform to the best of their abilities... or else what? The supporters are giving them money to throw their arms up in the air in frustration for 48 minutes?
ReplyDeleteThe Raptors have one of the best crowds in the NBA and when the team is doing well, they can get College-rowdy in a second. But the fact is the Raptors deserve to be booed - it's a wake up call for them. They've been playing like shit and when you've got Colangelo disappearing amidst all this chaos, it just goes to show that it is a tough business. Malin, I agree that fans have to cheer their team on no matter what, but when the team is not even putting any heart then they deserve to get booed, even to the point that they don't feel they're no longer wanted in Toronto.
You know I think JO summed up how I felt best. The raps deserved to get boo's but not at the time when the boo's started. Booing towards the end when the game was already gone to show your frustration is one thing. Booing early can kill potential runs, kill spirit. Bosh missing his first few shots CERTAINLY did not deserve boo's.
ReplyDeleteCan you picture CB during the game "Anthony, are they saying "Boo" or "Boo-urns"?
ReplyDeleteHAHAHAHAHA.. "I was saying boo-urns"
ReplyDeleteThat would be, "Boo-osh"
ReplyDelete